I'm starting this thread to list resources and for discussion of those with allergies. It seems easy enough to cut out eggs and dairy for Vegans. But, it gets hard when you can't eat nuts, beans, soy, wheat etc... So, go at it ladies. If you suggest websites or books I will try and get them in this first post. If you have recipes please put them in the recipe subforum with GF or Nut Free or Bean Free etc... in the Subject line. If you think I could add anything else to this main post or the Subject please let me know.
Heather

Oh good!! you did make it!!!! I was just in the shower thinking - hey - along the same lines.... we should all donate our "what we spend each week on what "at the grocery store...... that would be helpful for me to know if i am spending too much/normal... i doubt i spend too little ... but do you kwim? I think it would give us all an extra bit of suggestions as to varieties and such...

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~*~ Formerly 'Navae' ~*~

Another man and woman madly in love.....as a result, there are 3 little boys, so much good music and one adventure after the next!

Yea for this thread! We have to avoid dairy/wheat/soy/egg/peanut/tree nut/avocado/citrus for Ian. We haven't introduced beans because of the other legume issues. It seems like we can find mixes/recipes that avoid some but not all of our allergens. I am excited to see some ideas!

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~Jenn~

Mama to my inquisitive 8 year old boy, Ian and busy 4 year old girl, Claire! Aunt to my loving 5 year old nephew, Camren!
Married to my fantastic chiropractor dh!

We ate vegan for a while and ending up dropping it due to my pregnancy (couldn't stand to prepare food ) and ds's allergies to every type of nut and several legumes, including soy. We stayed off dairy for a couple of years, but eventually introduced eggs back into our diet... then occasional meat.. then more meat and even a little cheese in recent weeks. He is still reacting to things and has his next appt. on Monday, and I'm gonna thrash the doctor if he tries to back out of testing for the things I want. (oops.. sorry.. *Gentle* Christian mothers, Paula.. *gentle*) I asked him well over a year ago to test for legumes and he wouldn't. grrrrrrr...

we've only had skin testing for select items so far. That is a saga in itself. Our allergist really resists testing him for "just anything" and for the life of me I don't understand why. He seems to want to wait until Caleb reacts and THEN test to confirm it.

I'm DONE with that approach.. I'm ticked.. I was so enraged the last time he had a reaction, b/c I suspect it was to something that I had specifically asked him to test for, and instead he sent me home to experiment.

He can be a little overbearing in a friendly way so I'm planning to go without taking all 3 kids (b/c that's always so distracting), have my say before he interupts me, and present him with a (long) list of things I expect him to test for this time. I need a working list of foods that dh is *not* allergic to... I realize I will still have to sort out the sensitivities by trial and error, but I'm tired of being sideswiped by huge reactions to new foods when we could have *easily* tested for them and known they were dangerous. I will also discuss blood testing, b/c that might be easier on ds than getting 50 skin pricks. :/

I have looked into finding a different doctor, but EVERY allergist that my insurance will cover is part of the same group, and I suspect they will function along a similar SOP. This is his last chance, though... (Monday) I will switch doctors, even if it's to someone in the same group, if I am not satisfied with the way this next visit goes.

((Navae )))

I'm so sorry! Take a deep breath... you can do this (do you need a paper bag?) I felt like that when they told us ds was allergic to wheat AND rice AND soy.

You've still got potato starch, arrowroot, xanthum gum, and tons of different choices for flours... We will all help each other figure this out.

(I have a recipe for mini brownies that I think would be safe for you... chocolate makes everything seem more manageable!)

And actually Ian would be pretty happy living off fruit alone. He would eat 10 bananas a day if I would let him.

Yep, I forgot to add corn to our list of known allergies too. It is a huge pain to avoid too. Prepackaged foods are pretty much totally out of his diet.

Sometimes I get so burdened by having to cook mulitple meals every time we eat. If we go anywhere we have to pack his food. I mean, its all routine by now and is not the same overwhelming feeling that I used to have, but sometimes it still gets to me. And $5 for a tiny loaf of bread or 5 little bagels really gets expensive quick. I'd like to make my own breads for him but am at a loss on where to start for that.

We did NAET for a while....we quit because it was $60 a visit and we just couldn't afford to do it anymore. And his blood tests are still postive to things that the chiro who was doing NAET for so I don't know what to think about that one. I would like to try it again I think, when Ian can be tested and treated himself instead of treating through me, which is how it worked when he was to small for the kinesiology. Dh is in school to become a chiropractor and I am actually hoping that we can learn to do some work at home when he learns applied kinesiology.

Palil, I would be so frustrated with that allergist. I hope your next visit goes well. Our allergist asks me what I want him tested for.

So the Vance's Dari free is ok? Some of our mulitple severe allergy kiddos do okay on it? I had considered ordering it for Ian but I always get really nervous at getting and introducing new foods. I have an aversion to seeing my kid with hives and asthma. :/ I would feel better knowing that there are others who have used it and it is safe!

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~Jenn~

Mama to my inquisitive 8 year old boy, Ian and busy 4 year old girl, Claire! Aunt to my loving 5 year old nephew, Camren!
Married to my fantastic chiropractor dh!

Got the book! I basically just thumbed through it, but it look fantastic, ya'll! Great features... charts.. the recipe section looks great.

I'm not jumping in to trying a lot of recipes yet, b/c they lean heavily on seed products and (non-soy, non-peanut) legumes.... and I'm just flat out scared to give any of those to ds until we have his testing on Monday. I suspect some combination of those are responsible for his last 2 reactions.

more detail later.. I"ll post the outline and some of the features I thought were neat. I gotta get off the computer for now.

What are Food Sensitivities?
Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Intestinal Boundary
Food Sensitivities and Various Conditions
Discovering What Ails Us: Testing for Food Sensitivities
Foods, Label reading, and Alternatives
Wheat and Gluten Sensitivities and Celiac Disease
Living with Food Sensitivities: Feelings, Safety, and Exercise
Nutrition Planning for Adults and Children
Kitchen Basics and Cooking Fundamentals
Recipes

Then it has a list of resources which looks GREAT, food diary form, Appendixes, etc.

The recipes note at the bottom if something contains tomato, fermented food, or citrus. Explanations are given for unusual ingredients, and they give good tips on equipment and even pressure cooking instructions and times. They cover preventing food allergies, elimination diets, and give lots of nutritional analysis. They give a nice variety of make-your-own seasoning mixes, have a section on building meals around the potato, and give dozens of options for plain grains and rice. Many of the "recipes" have so many options listed that they are way more than just a recipe (18 muffin options.. not just flavor options, but different grains). The more I look through it the more impressed I am. They were very thorough.

I think this book could really lend itself to being adapted to almost any set of allergies, as long as you can eat *either* some beans, or some seeds, or some nuts.

A variety of opinions and ideas are shared on GCM. Personal experiences, suggestions, and tips found here are in no way intended to substitute for medical counsel from a healthcare professional. Always use your own good judgement and seek professional advice when in doubt about a health concern.